Team Geronimo is back from the first whirlwind of major events, photo shoots, and testing sessions of 2011. It was quite the trip! We traveled over 10,000 miles by air and by land over the past month...

Hello MTB friends… my name is Trevor Burke and I am riding for Banshee/Trident Racing in 2011. I’d like to share a few words about the race this past weekend, BC Cup #1: Race the Ranch in Kamloops BC. Right off the bat here I’d like to mention that as I am writing this I am drinking Sangria out of my Pro Mens 1st place trophy which is a boot shaped mug just like out of the movie Beerfest... Well done to who ever thought of this for a trophy! Awesome! I also received a spanking fresh “Race the Ranch” belt buckle... STOKED!!!

At the end of summer 2010 I received an email from Zac at Trident Sports (Banshee Distribution North America) asking if I wanted to ride a Banshee Legend MkII with Dorado`s for next season. I had ridden our friend Seb Vickers’ Legend/Dorado setup in whistler over the summer and it felt amazing… so I jumped at the opportunity putting a "for sale" sign on my v10 the next day!

Trev in the Steep bit up above the road gap

After living in Whistler for 18 consecutive months and 2 months into my 2nd ski season, I was over shredding pow and needed to feel 2 wheels ripping up dirt underneath me, so I moved to North Vancouver to crash on a buddies’ floor for 4 months to save some coin and begin training for Summer and the racing season ahead…. in that 4 months I managed to do only 20 days of gym work and only a handful of mountain bike rides (on Zac’s bikes!), not quite the intensive training I was hoping on, but it was something. Lots of cheap beer and playstation got in the way I’ll admit…

Trevva prancing like a reindeer

I got a lift to Kamloops with my buddy, Bart Brown (Masters PINNER!) in style! We drove up in his new Ford F350 van which can take 15 passengers and it was holding just 3 of us, so plenty of room to stretch out, also with his pimped out custom built trailer towed behind, with beds, music system and heating! Definitely the best way to go to a race! We arrived in Kamloops on Friday afternoon and went for a track walk. I had raced the track last year and knew it was pedally… this year the course had a few extra jumps and seemed like there wasn’t any more than 15 meters of track with out a jump or corner. Whilst walking the track I walked past one of the fastest guys in BC, Dean Tennant scoping lines, I knew there was going to be some tough competition for the season opener. My travel mates and I settled into a few cold ones and went to bed ready to hit the track the next day.

Junior X Member Kip Shortreed- Rumblin'

Saturday morning I was eager to get up to the top and go for my first downhill run since November. Mr. Zac Smith arrived at the race site right on time with his Legend which I would be borrowing for this race, as a couple parts for our new bikes hadn’t arrived yet…We set up our pit, I put my Alpinestars gear on, grabbed my Smith Goggles in a flash, swapped Zac’s brakes to the correct side ( front brake RIGHT mate!!! )and got a lift up to the start. First run down the course/ first downhill in 6 months/first ride on the Legend went better than expected as I hit all the big gaps on the course although there were a few corners I still had to figure out. By 2nd run I had all my lines sorted and the rest of Saturday I punched out runs all day not because I needed to practice the lines but because I was having so much fun riding the bike. I have ridden Boxxers for 6 years now and 1 day on the Dorado impressed the hell out of me, they feel so supple at high speeds through rough rock sections keeping my bars straight, instead of twitching off every other rock like other forks often seem to. I think more people need to just get on one of these forks and ride a bit… you’ll see what I mean. They aren’t just faster, they make a bike feel bloody special and I love it. After all these years of rebuilding the brand, the new folks behind Manitou really have something special going on . I’m hooked on the TPC+ damping for sure and they just look so cool! Radical.

Trev nearing the bottom of the course...

After a super fun day of riding bikes, it was time to watch the dual slalom so I headed up the course to watch the carnage with my box of cheese-its and a few viewing beers. Our teammate Dennis had a big crash in practice putting a nice little Easter egg on the side of his head just in time for Easter, but unfortunately putting him out of the competition. Dalen (Trident’s Bike Division Sales Manager) also competed in the Slalom and it looked to be a good time. Dinner and drinks and off to bed after that.

Dalen "The Momentum" Stanley rocking Slalom on his Amp

Dalen and Steve Boucher put in some solid runs in Masters, Steve taking 3rd on his Black/Green Legend looking like a million bucks. Dalen’s girlfriend Cheryl was looking good as well on her spanking fresh BLUE Legend running against the other Masters Women, team co-manager/photographer/mechanic/suspensiontech/pitboss/fleetmaster Zac Smith snapped a snazzy pic of her looking solid just after the hip jump! Good work Cheryl, having fun out on the bike in STYLE.

Cheryl Moore on the move

Kip Shortreed- About to take a dirt nap!

Race time came around for myself and the rest of the Elite field, I sat in the trailer and listened to some fast tunes on my Ipod and drank a herbal energy drink supplied to me by Bart, I filled up a water bottle and jumped into the back of Tyler Gorz’s truck to grab a lift to the start gate feeling a little nervous.While waiting for the Pro Women to finish I did few laps around the bmx track on the Legend to get my legs moving. As our class began to race I looked around at my opponents who are ALL very fast guys from BC, Tyler Gorz is always a threat, Dean Tennant, Ryan Vanderham, Tyler Allison, Jeff Bryson, Dan Skogland and Andrew Mitchell (3 time national champ!) to name a few. Quite a stacked field. Teammate JS Therrien won this race last year on the Banshee Legend so of course I knew he would do well here, if not repeat another victory… this track is practically his after all! Nobody looked faster in practice than JS. I was nervous seeing all of this intimidating talent around me but it calmed my nerves to just think of doing well regardless of results against all of these great riders.

JS Looking very fast!My run started off not quite the best only by fault of my own- I was having too much fun riding my bike in practice and I did not practice what gear to start the race in… I started in a harder gear than I should have, but as soon as I railed that first corner of the track I forgot all about it and had the time of my life pinning my way down the whole track. The top half of my run was very clean and I just felt happy riding my bike at speed so quickly because this bike and suspension setup is so sensitive and stable. Half way down the track after a blind hip jump over a rock garden, a fast straight goes into a very fast loose left hand corner- all weekend I had been cautious around this corner as most people were taking an inside foot off the pedal just in case... during my race run I hit the hip over the rocks and nailed this corner with perfect confidence in my bike setup. I just didn’t even think of putting a foot down because this bike with this setup just DEMANDS SPEED and helps you through everything as if automatic. I just can’t describe it any other way and I’ll say it again: The Legend MkII with Dorado Pro/Ti Sprung Revox Pro is like freaking auto-traction. What a bike.

A well earned brew- Cheers!As predicted my wheels stuck to the ground and I cranked out of the corner into the most pedally section of the track popping and pumping all the jumps, this is the moment of the race I knew I was on a hot run, Zac’s Legend pedalled amazingly well through the next long flat section of track and pumping through the small jumps like I was on a pump track on a hardtail or something. Coming into the final drop section of the track I took my line which no other rider was taking allowing me to get a couple of extra cranks in before the final straight. I hit the final jump keeping it nice and low then cranked hard across the finish, I took over the hot seat from the awesome Ryan Vanderham by a mere 0.02 of a second, with approximately 12 of BC`s best racers still to come I was very nervous sitting in the hot seat. I have never won a Pro class race ever before, sitting and watching rider after rider come very close to my time was possibly the most nerve racking experience of my life, Brett Tippie helped calm those nerves with his awesome humour. Four years on 3 different V10’s seemed to do nothing for me personally, while a day and a half on a borrowed Legend that had seen over a year of battle-action came up trumps. What can I say our man Zac knows how to tune a bike. He was in the pits all weekend cleaning and repairing seemingly everyone in attendances’ gear. He even rode this bike in-between race day practice and start time on Rio trail and had the bike not only re-set for me personally but fully rebuilt, cleaned and tuned, what a champ. Despite being so nervous at the starting gate I won the race against so many talented athletes in the most stacked field I have seen with a time of 1.53.11, the fastest time of the day, borrowed bike and all... ON ANSWER FLAT PEDALS MATE!!!! I am really happy the race turned out so well for our Team. JS had a minor bobble in the top end of the track but recovered with apparently blistering lower-track speed for a decent time of 1.56.26 in 9th place. Two Elite racers on the team running the track that day, and two top ten finishes. I am really excited to run the new bike this season and represent all of the top-end brands we have kitting us out. We have a lot of great people pitching in to help us out including Banshee Bikes of course, Manitou Suspension, Hayes/SunRingle/Answer Products (ProTaper handlebars can’t be beat!), Gamut Chainguides, WTB Saddles (Thanks for the fresh Silverado’s boys), Alpinestars extra fine Pyjama’s and Armour Systems, and Smith Optics keeping our vision crystal clear and our riders looking fresh. Trevor gets his first Elite win aboard the Legend MkII!!See you all out on the trails, in the Whistler Bike Park and of course at all the BC Cup races! Come one come all, we’re going to have a classy good time.

Friday, April 29, 2011

Hey guys.Second round of Moravskoslovensky DH Cup was held again in slovakian Kalnica, but this time on a different track. This one is a bit longer with more jumps. Thanks to the super dry weather before and during the weekend the track was super fast and dusty. Actually, it made the times much closer.I was simply having fun and enjoying the weather and training. I had to stay a bit back because I had a bad wrist sprain last week. It didn’t pain too much what I was really happy for.

The times were really close on Sunday, but I managed to win both – semi and finals.It was really good training for some bigger races as it is always good to ride with timing and some racing attitude.

Wednesday, April 27, 2011

In February Cob and I headed down south in the X-Fusion Battle Bus with Theo and John for a seven day film trip in southern California. The video came out today on Pinkbike, and Theo killed it to say the least!

Monday, April 25, 2011

On spring break here in Fernie B.C, the entire town is still in ski-mode, and the mention of biking is not a common thing. Meanwhile my brother (Nic) and I are planning ways to escape the snow and search for spring. After some thought on locations, we decided to head down to Surrey and stay with our friend Anthony Messere for 5 days, while still getting back to Kelowna for Harrison Mendels birthday jam on the weekend.

After driving a long 12 hours to Vancouver, we arrived at Anthonys house. It was raining out so we decided to check out all the spots we were planning on shooting on the week to follow. That night we ended up going to bed early to wake up bright and early to shoot the next day.The next morning we went to the ferry terminal to pick up photographer/ filmer Mike Zinger, and he spent the next day with us getting some amazing shots and clips. Big thanks to Mike for helping!The first spot we went to was a Sand Stepup called ABA, and this was a fun session because It was my first jump that I had hit since October. Anthony was killing it all day, which made us all really stoked to shred.We ended up riding about 5 different spots that were all about 15-20 mins away from Anthonys house, which made me realize how amazing Vancouver is!One spot i really liked was Clark Whites house, where we filmed and rode the most out of the week.

The Team Geronimo guys have been doing a photo shoot with Devon Balet whilst they road trip their way back from Sea Otter to their mountain lair in Colorado.

The guys are all enjoying riding the prime and the slightly different feel it has compared to 26ers. I asked these guys to use and abuse the frame beyond its intended purpose so that we can be double sure that there are no structural issues... it would appear that they are doing just that... and loving it!Thanks to Devon for the great shots, and Geronimo guys for ripping it up!!

Wednesday, April 20, 2011

Adam was racing his Legend MkII at Moelfre the other weekend against some of the worlds top racers for the British Downhill Series.Not Adams ideal kind of track (he prefers steep, nasty and wet) but he got him self solidly in the top 10.

Tuesday, April 19, 2011

Last week was the 21st annual Sea Otter Clasic show near Monterey, California, and we were there cooking in the sun along side the Team Geronimo guys.

We had a Prime proto shipped over to show it off to everyone who was interested... but didn't quite realise what good testing the bike would get.

First of all, the Team Geronimo guys had ridden Blackrock on the way down with the proto, and had sent some pretty big gaps on it, saying it felt great. Then Lear said he would love to ride it in the Pro Men DH race at Sea Otter... so I figured, why not! Seemed like a good way to test an all mountain prototype to me.

The frame was built up with a prototype fork from Manitou (the Tower 140; with 140mm of travel, tapered steerer, and stiff 20mm hex lock axle system), and a proto Sturdy front tire from Geaxwhich both seemed to work really well and were suited to the more aggressive 29er rider (just the market the Banshee Prime is aimed at!). there were also goodies from Straitline (seriously, the chainguide is amazing, you totally forget it is there it is so quiet!), Hayes and Sun Ringle.

So after I rode it around a bit, I decided that it would be great to get Lear to race it on the DH to see just how capable the bike would be. He did, and he LOVED it. He came back with a huge grin on his face, and had placed well in the Pro category of DH. Here is a pic of him on his race run...

Then... Just to seal the weekend with a bang, we let Mike Montgomery flip it... as you do! Man that guy just makes everything look so easy! Is this the first backflip on a 29er ever?

So as if the Prime hadn't had a busy enough weekend, I then took it out yesterday for a loop with the Geronimo guys with a long steady climb, and then a nice steep descent which most people probably ride on full DH rigs... it was a lot of fun! Last week was indeed Prime time!! haha

Friday, April 8, 2011

As a part of pre-season training I took an oportunity to compete on still growing race series – Moravskoslovenský DH Cup. First round was held in small ski resort not too far from Czech border – slovakian Kalnica.

Thanks to really nice weather there was really stack field. The track was short, not too technical and therefore the battle of the hundreths of a second started.The only man who could beat me in the final was Filip Polc (-0.2sec). I took 2nd place, what I was really happy for. I took this race like a training before the season and it helped me to get the confidence and motivation, that was the main goal.

You can also check my GoPro (headcam) footage from Semifinal (snapped chain):

I'd been tipped off by a mate about a local riding spot before winter kicked in, and went up there (without my bike) in a storm in the middle of winter to scope the runs, and clear some fallen trees and repack some berms etc. I feel it is very important to maintain the trails you ride.

The area had a single DH track that was built by a local about 8 years ago I believe, and has been added to tastefully, without going over the top or causing any aggravation to local dog walkers or hikers. So now there are a handful of fun runs to ride.

Last weekend I managed to get out on my Legend MkII for the first time since last summer (due to snow, traveling and working long hours). I met up with my mate Alan in a small car park at the bottom before starting the steep push up. The plan for the day was just to have some fun riding new trails, while trying out a custom tune on the new Elka Stage 5 sample I just mounted on my Legend (wow, what a shock!), and get used to being back on the big bike. I also brought along my GoPro and got some footage before my battery died (must remember to charge it beforehand next time!).

I really enjoyed being back riding the DH rig on steep terrain (not that it looks steep on camera mind you! haha), and met some really cool guys on the trails who I hope to ride with again when I get back home again in another month or so. It is really nice to have a spot like this within a 15 min drive from my flat, and I will not take that fact for granted. I'm looking forward to many more days of riding and maintaining these trails with new friends.

Banshee World Cup Team Rider, Adam Brayton takes the win and fastest time of the day at round three of the Alpine Bikes Winter Series at Innerleithen, Scotland.

'This weekend was the final round of the innerleithen winter series and a race I was really looking forward to after round one was so good.

On the Saturday there was quite heavy rain so I held off till about ten o’clock but the sky didn’t look like it was going to clear up so I headed up for a run to see what it was like.

The track was real good and it was nice to have a fresh lip on the quarry gap, the bottom section was quite pedally in bits so good job I’ve been working hard over the winter.

I got 6 runs in the end but I wasn’t feeling to clever on the track so I walked up after practice to check some bits out and find some fresh lines for Sundays practice.

Sunday morning I got two mega runs in, I was feeling real good on the track and I was happy to find my flow ready for the 1st run.

Out the start my run was shady as I messed up the 1st corner but after that I got some pedals in down the 1st straight and set about nailing my lines and my run was going pretty good just a few little mistakes and then on the main pedally bit I sat down! I and thought to myself what are you doing! I’m blaming the wtb devo seat it’s just so comfy I feel like I’m on the yz! Anyway I got my self into gear and got cranking before the next section which was real sick loads of turns with some little inside lines then into the finish it was pretty flat out huck thing before getting on the gas to the line. After my 1st run I was surprised to go into the lead, things were real tight which is always good for racing but I knew I could build on it for 2nd runs.

Props to Ian MacLennan for both shots... this one was brave!

Then it started to rain a little bit but it was hard to tell what damage it would do to the course. I didn’t think it would be much different as the top was wet already and the rest of the track was in dense trees, so I loaded up with some tear offs just in case things got messy.

My run felt pretty awesome few little bits where I backed off just in case things were different and they turned out to be good decisions like the last section was quite hard pack flat turns so I just got through there safe and went fastest again but 2 seconds down on my time so I was mega stoked to take the win to top off a great weekend!

When the heavens opened I was feeling it even more the legend loves it wet, and so do I, so I knew it was more than capable of going quicker, after all its spent half its life in the mud!

This was my 2nd race with the Elka/Banshee combo and it has blown me away right about the box, mid week testing definitely paid off as it was munching!

Wednesday, April 6, 2011

Esher is all done...

Just in case you had not heard "the news", Freeborn Bikes Esher (bike shop) and Esher X (bike park) closed the doors last Thursday (31st March 2011) for good

due to a dispute with the landowner (Sandown park) and the landlord (Sandown Sports) we were thrown off the site with little notice, the bike shop was stripped out and stock sent back to Freeborn Bikes Horsham, and the bike park flattened - both the new Esher X development and the existing Esher Pump Track - which totally sucks!

huge thanks to all our customers over the 8+ years we operated at Esher, all the riders on the Banshee / Mythic bikes who ripped up the park and represented!!

Tuesday, April 5, 2011

There is a lot of debate about which is best when it comes to mountain biking, 29" or 26" wheels and to be honest there are pro`s and con`s to each. 26ers have been around an awful lot longer, partly because they were easier to come by back in the 80`s, but that doesn`t necessarily mean they are better. There are many advantages to big wheeled bikes. The decrease in the approach angle on bigger tyres means that they can roll over obstacles much more easily plus they are much less likely to sink in mud or soft ground thanks to their larger surface area. There is more traction both in a straight line and on corners thanks to the longer contact patch and of course, bigger wheels means more ground clearance. Riding on big wheels with low tyre pressures also absorbs bumps and pot holes easily and helps your bike stick to the road like glue. The increased weight and momentum gives riders much more grip which makes travelling at speed a breeze as well as giving greater confidence in riding a straighter line.

There are some drawbacks too and it is mostly down to the weight. The wheels on a 29er are always going to be heavier than its smaller counterparts. The extra weight is part of a rotating mass so it actually counts as double. Having a greater mass means you need more force to change the steering angle and the longer spokes mean the wheels themselves are much more flexible. There`s the height issue as well, a smaller rider (under 5`5" for example) is probably going to find a 29er much harder to ride, although the flipside of that is that for tall riders a 29er is going to be much more ergonomic.

So really it comes down to what kind of rider you are and what you want out of a bike. Most 29ers are a bit more flexible than a smaller 26" bike and they can be heavy and slow to manoeuvre. When it comes to trail riding, however, both types of bikes are pretty good. A decent 26er will take a 29er where there is a lot of manoeuvring or a steep descent involved but when it comes to technically challenging situations, 29ers are far superior thanks to their low centre of gravity and their ability to roll over obstacles with ease.

Although on the whole 26ers are a little ahead of 29ers in terms of development, there are improvements being made all the time. There is a new breed of 29ers which have been precision engineered to give high performance to rival any of the smaller and more manoeuvrable 26ers out there. At the end of the day it comes down to personal preference and the way you ride but the enhanced ability to ride over obstacles, increased stability and reduced rolling resistance certainly makes 29" wheeled bikes a very appealing option.

Fakawi Banshee team rider Adam Ahmed who won the top elite spot in MDHSS Race#1 at Tokun, Penang. Fellow team member Aim fauzi finished a good 4th also in elite category despite a flat tire! Our junior rider Aaron chan clocked a good time to take 3rd in the expert category. Unlucky Rizal (Expert) busted his knee on the final run.. will be out of action for some time.

Saturday, April 2, 2011

This is a wrap-up of the 2011 Australian National Downhill Series, Australian National Downhill Championships and Oceania Championships.

National Series

The 3rd round of the National Downhill Series was held at Mount Buller, Victoria in early Feb on a very wet, cold and windy weekend. We arrived on Thursday amid pouring rain and high winds which continued through the whole weekend with Saturday's practice being cancelled as it was considered too unsafe for the chair lifts! Seeding and Race runs were held on Sunday and apparently the timing system did not record my seeding run and therefore I got to be first over the line for my race. It was a very difficult track made even more so by freezing temperatures and snow (in mid summer!)which I am not used to. My race run was conservative to say the least but I managed to finish 6th which I was pretty happy about considering the conditions!

Australian National Downhill Championships

A couple of weeks later Team Banshee Australia descended on Adelaide, South Australia to contest the National Championships at Eagle MTB Park. Conditions here were in stark contrast to the previous event with the track being loose, dusty and blown out by race day. I had a good few days practice without any major issues going into seeding and placed 4th for the next days race. My race run was measured and whilst I had a few moments of concern I still managed to place 4th behind Connor Fearon, Troy Brosnan and Brandon Yrttiaho - a good result in my mind. I would like to acknowledge Under 17 team rider Lachie McLaren who took his Legend onto the Podium in 3rd place - well done Lachie.

Oceania Championships

Off to Shepparton for the Oceania Championships & round 4 Australian National Downhill Series (combined event) 3 weeks later and on arrival we were greeted with a track at Mount Major (renamed Mount Minor!) which was fun to ride but just not up to standard for a Continental Championship! All that aside it still had its fair share of super technical aspects including loose rocks which moved when riding over them and caused me a fair bit of grief with pinch flats and crashes. I seeded in 8th place and rode conservatively in my race run to finish 7th which I was OK with given the closeness of times between 1st and 7th. Troy Brosnan took the win with Conner Fearon in 2nd place and Brandon Yrttiaho in 3rd. The final round of the National Downhill Series was held in conjunction with this race and as a result I managed to finish 4th overall for the Australian National Downhill Series 2011.

I have been selected into the Australian National Downhill Junior (long) Team to contest the World Downhill Championships at Champery, Switzerland in September 2011 and unless something drastic happens I hope to be selected into the final short team come July 2011. My results for National and Oceania events for 2011 are:

Now for lots of training and National Camps in the lead up to World Champs and our precursor race at Val di Sole World Cup round and an IXS Cup round in Switzerland. I am also happy to acknowledge that Chris Kovarik of Kovarik Racing has agreed to coach and mentor me over the coming months.

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